Robert Griffin Jr. (not pictured) says he’d like to see the Redskins pass a lot more in 2013, but respects that Mike Shanahan, right, has seen a lot over the years and knows what works and what doesn’t. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)

The father of Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III said Wednesday that he hopes the team’s attack evolves in 2013 into more of a passing offense and one that relies less on his son’s legs.

“I just know that based on what I know Robert can do, he doesn’t have to be a runner as much as I saw last year,” Robert Griffin Jr. said. “To me, you’re paying these [receivers] a lot of money to catch the football. I’m his dad — I want him throwing that football, a lot. A lot.”

Robert Griffin III led the Redskins to a 10-6 record as a rookie starter in 2012 while leading the NFL in both yards per pass attempt and yards per rushing attempt. He also set NFL records for highest passer rating and most rushing yards by a rookie quarterback. But he suffered a concussion in Week 5 against Atlanta, was knocked out of a Week 15 game against Baltimore and missed the following game in Cleveland. Then he suffered torn ligaments in his right knee in the Redskins’ loss to Seattle in the first round of the NFC playoffs in January, requiring reconstructive surgery.

Griffin is currently rehabbing his knee at the Redskins’ headquarters in Ashburn, and by all accounts is on schedule to be ready near the start of the 2013 season. According to Griffin’s father, “The goal is to be back for the start of the season.”

Mike Shanahan has said the Redskins need to retain the zone-read option offense that Griffin ran in 2012 as an element of their overall offensive scheme in 2013, in order to keep defenses off balance and open up other avenues.

The elder Griffin said his son has conversations with the Shanahans about the offense, and that it remains important that everyone be on the same page when it comes to offensive philosophy.

“Coach Shanahan, he’s seen a lot over his years in football,” Griffin Jr. said. “He knows what works and what doesn’t work. Sometimes new things are great. But there are some things you have to have in your game. Like in basketball — the fast break is great, but you’ve got to have that half-court game.

“I think for [Robert III], he likes some of the things that they do. And he feels any area where he had a concern, he addressed it. And I think [the Shanahans] have concerns, too. We want to have a united community. That first year everybody was just, ‘Wow.’ And now we have to look at sustainment. It can’t be a ‘Wow’ again.”

Dave Sheinin has been covering baseball and writing features and enterprise stories for The Washington Post since 1999.

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